Portland is a PR machine for light rail & streetcar

Here are Some Facts About Portland Oregon          

Allegedly, huge amounts are being spent on parking lots at local stores driving up the cost of everything we purchase.

Lets take a look

Lets start using data from a rabidly anti-automobile group, so we know we are not underestimating the cost:

 

 

 

This table illustrates the costs of providing parking under typical conditions. The “Parking Cost, Pricing and Revenue Calculator” (www.vtpi.org/parking.xls) can calculate these costs based on input values for specific circumstances. Note that these costs do not include property taxes but values for taxes can be added in the calculator.

 

A Wallmart is usually suburban, so lets use the suburban surface of $74/month. This is $2.47 per day or $0.21 per hour. How much does the typical shopper spend in a typical hour of shopping? We guess that it is a lot more than $0.21! (even if you account for the unused spaces, providing parking is a really cheap way to attract customers!)

 

This chart also show the very high cost of high density construction as that $74/month space goes for up to $334/mo in the high density central business district, an density penalty of 451%.

Chart from: Transportation Cost and Benefit Analysis II – Parking Costs Victoria Transport Policy Institute (www.vtpi.org) (Local Copy)

 

False claim: Parking is highly subsidized